The Friendship Betrayal Axiom
by LissyGray
Summary: This is a short story about how Sheldon reacts when Penny moves out unexpectantly. It's been a while since I've written a story, so I'm sorry if it's a little bit off. I purposely made Sheldon have a little more emotion, as this is a story. Also, I leave the end for you to decide if they rekindle their friendship or get together.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Big Bang Theory characters and likenesses owned by NBC and Chuck Lorre Productions. **

**Chapter 1**

To: lhofstadter  
From: queenpenelope  
Dear Leonard,  
I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. I've left your spare key in your mailbox. Please tell everyone I'm sorry. Please don't try to contact me.  
-Penny

Leonard stared at the computer screen dumbfounded. He wasn't sure what to do. Had Penny moved out of her apartment in the middle of the night? He laid his head on his desk and sighed. It was his fault she left. He didn't even notice that Sheldon had come home.

"Leonard, is there something wrong?"

"Sheldon," Leonard said as he lifted his head, "Penny's gone."

"Don't be absurd. The most likely scenario is that she's at the mall buying shoes she can't afford."

"No, Sheldon. I mean it, she's gone. She moved out last night."

"She's supposed to take me to the comic book store today." Sheldon stated and promptly went over to Penny's apartment.

_Knock, knock, knock…_

"Penny,"

_Knock, knock, knock…_

"Penny,"

_Knock, knock, knock…_

The door opened and a man stood there staring at Sheldon.

"Penny," Sheldon whispered as he looked around the short, stout man and saw that Penny's things were packed up.

"What do you want? The girl who lived here moved. I'm the moving guy."

"Obviously," Sheldon remarked, "May I inquire of her new address?"

"What?" the man asked looking confused.

"Oh, good Lord," Sheldon rolled his eyes in disbelief, "May I have her new address?"

"Look, buddy. I can't tell you that information."

Sheldon drew his lips into a thin line and quickly walked away from apartment 4B. When he got back across the hall, Leonard still had his head on his desk. Sheldon practically slammed the door as he walked in and startled Leonard.

"Leonard, will you drive me to the comic book store?" Sheldon inquired rather sharply.

"I have to do some work in the lab. That's why Penny was going to take you. Remember?"

"Then, who is going to take me to the comic book store? Why would she tell me she was going to take me and then move out?" He said clearly vexed as he sat in his spot and reached for the phone.

"Who are you calling?"

"I'm calling Raj. Someone has to take me to the comic book store."

**Later that night…**

"Dude, are you okay? You've barely said two words to me. You usually make me play a car game." Raj asked Sheldon.

"Stop speaking nonsense, Raj. I'm fine. I am not in the mood to make idle conversation."

"Just admit that you miss Penny. We all miss her."

"I don't miss Penny. I don't miss her barging into our apartment. I don't miss her stealing our milk. I don't miss her eating take out with us. I do not miss Penny!"

"Okay, dude. Clearly you don't miss her." Raj said as he parked the car near the comic book store.

Sheldon immediately got out of the car and waited while Raj put change in the parking meter. He watched as Raj put enough change in for 2 hours plus a few minutes for the walk to the store. It would be sufficient time to find a new comic book, as he always perused through every single one of them to make sure he did not miss one.

Raj and Sheldon were rifling through the comic books when Sheldon heard shuffled footsteps next to him. He did not have to look up to know who was standing there.

"Hello, Stuart." Sheldon said, seemingly annoyed that the comic book store owner was standing in his personal space.

"Sheldon... So, I heard that Penny moved out."

At the mention of her name, Sheldon tensed. Raj shook his head "no" trying to stop Stuart from saying anything else, but Stuart was clueless.

"It seems news travels expeditiously." Sheldon retorted.

"So, it's true? She left and didn't tell you guys where she was going." Stuart looked slightly amused.

"Yes, she moved out and did not leave a forwarding address," Sheldon peered over at Stuart as he answered, "Why do you care? She wasn't your friend."

Stuart appeared surprised by Sheldon's harsh remark and left him alone.

"Dude, what was that all about?" Raj interjected, "That was kind of mean. No, wait. That was really mean."

"I don't understand what you are talking about," Sheldon replied as he found a comic book he did not already own, "I was simply stating a fact. Penny was not friends with Stuart. At the very least, not the kind of friends I thought..."

Sheldon trailed off as he was about to say things he didn't want to say to Raj or any of their friends for that matter.

"What? You didn't finish your thought."

"It was nothing. I'm ready to go home now."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**  
**A week later...**

Sheldon was getting the mail and noticed that a package came for him. He was puzzled because he hadn't ordered anything, therefore he was not expecting a package. He stared at it's place of origin and his heart rate quickened. Augustine Farms. That was Penny's family farm. He bound up the 4 flights of stairs both curious and appalled that she had sent him a package in the mail instead of just emailing.

Coincidentally, Leonard was not at home. Sheldon was grateful because he did not want Leonard interrogating him about the package. Once in his room, Sheldon sat on his bed and stared at the box in his lap. He wasn't sure if he wanted to open it or just throw it in the trash bin. Curiosity got the best of him and he carefully opened the package.

Inside he found another box that had all the shipping labels torn off. He deduced that Penny had shipped the box to her parents and they had shipped it to him. It seems she made sure he wouldn't be able to find her. He opened the smaller box and found inside, a letter and a gray kitty stuffed animal with black stripes. He put the box aside and opened the letter.

_Dear Moonpie, _(Only Meemaw calls me moonpie, he thought to himself)  
_I know you are upset that I left and didn't take you to the comic book store. I'm sorry that I had to lie to you. If I had said no, you would have somehow figured out that something was wrong. I know you don't like stuffed animals, but I had this made just for you. When you're sick, press it's paw. Take care, sweetie._  
_-Penny_

He reached over to the kitty and pressed it's paw. Immediately he heard the familiar singing voice of Penny and she was singing "Soft Kitty". He tossed it on the floor, he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He laid on his bed in his usual fetal position and then reached down to pick up the kitty. He pressed it's paw again. He laid there for what seemed like hours (in reality it was only 20 minutes), until his Vulcan hearing heard the click of the apartment door opening.

"Sheldon," Leonard called out.

Sheldon didn't answer. Maybe if Leonard thought he was sleeping, he would leave him alone.

_Knock, knock..._

"Sheldon, I know you're here. Your bag is on your desk." he said from the other side of Sheldon's bedroom door.

"Hold on," Sheldon replied as he set the box down on the floor by the bed where Leonard wouldn't see it and shoved soft kitty under his pillow, "You may enter."

Leonard opened the door and looked around suspiciously. "Why wouldn't you answer me when I called?"

"I was tired and I fell asleep for a few minutes. You know I don't like to yell unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Leonard inquired as he raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Sheldon spat out and forced Leonard out of the room by standing so close to him he had to back up, before shutting the door in his face. After he shut the door, Sheldon put his ear to the door and waited until he heard Leonard sigh and walk away.  
Sheldon crept back over to his bed and pulled soft kitty out from under his pillow. He stared at it, but didn't dare press it's paw again for fear that Leonard would hear it. He walked over to his closet and found a hiding spot for soft kitty.

"That vile woman, taunting me with my mother's "Soft Kitty" song. She knows very well that I avoid calling my mother even when I'm sick or else I wouldn't have taught it to her to sing to me." Sheldon said so quietly, it was barely a whisper.

During their Halo night, the subject of Penny came up again. Although, most of the guys and the girls tried not to mention Penny around Sheldon. They knew that even though he said he was glad she was gone, that he was hurt like the rest of them.

"I still can't believe Penny is gone." Howard blurted out.

"Dude, I wonder what her new neighbors are like," Raj said, but regretted it immediately once he saw Sheldon's "I'll use the Force to choke you" face, "they're probably dumb."

"Do you think she moved back to Nebraska?" Leonard pondered.

"No, she did not move back to Nebraska." Sheldon stated simply and continued to play.

"What? How do you know that?" they all said at the same time.

Sheldon paused the game. "She sent me a package a few days ago. It said Nebraska on the box, but it was just a ruse. She sent the package to her parents to send to me. They took off the shipping labels so we wouldn't know where to find her."

"What did she send you? Why didn't she send us anything?" Howard looked completely baffled as he asked.

"Wolowitz, it's none of your business," Sheldon responded with a stern look on his face, "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

As Sheldon got up from his spot, Leonard gave Howard an annoyed look.

"Sheldon, wait." Leonard almost hesitated to say.

Sheldon turned to face Leonard and Leonard thought he saw sadness in Sheldon's eyes for a moment, but then it was gone. He shook it off as his own eyes playing tricks on him.

"Are you sure you're..."

"Leonard, I don't know how many times I must repeat myself, but I am fine," Sheldon turned to walk away, "I would prefer not speak of this subject again."

From then on, no one spoke of Penny in front of Sheldon. There were whispers behind closed doors, but he still heard them. Although, he pretended not to.****


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**  
**6 years later...**

Sheldon stood at his white board examining a problem he was working on. He had a Physics conference in New York City in a few days and he wanted to solve the problem before he left. Raj walked by with a glass of apple juice and sat on the sofa.

"Dude, you've got the first section of the equa..."

"Ssshhh!" Sheldon said as he pointed at Raj with his dry erase marker without even looking at him.

"Okay, nevermind," Raj said as he rolled his eyes at Sheldon, "I'm going to watch a movie."

"Fine. Don't turn it up too loud. I'm working."

**A few days later...**

Sheldon's train arrived at Grand Central Station almost on time. He had found the appropriate bus route to his hotel and had worn his bus pants. The bus ride was almost unbearable as there were so many people on the bus, but the hotel was much too far for him to walk and he was terrified he would get mugged.

Once off the bus, Sheldon immediately put sanitizer on his hands. People shoved by him and stared at him as if he was in their way. He ignored them and walked the short distance to the hotel. Once inside, he went to the front desk, inspecting the cleanliness as he walked through the lobby.

"Hello, sir. How may I assist you?" a brunette, named Sariah greeted him.

"Hello, Sariah. My name is Dr. Sheldon Cooper. I'm here to check in."

She quickly typed his name into the computer and saw his reservation.

"Yes, Dr. Cooper. We have your room ready. Here is your key and your ticket to tonight's Broadway show." She smiled and slid the items his way.

"You must be mistaken. I didn't arrange for any ticket to a Broadway show." he said as he slid it back towards her.

"Ah, I see. I forgot there was a note attached to it."

He took the note and opened it. It was written on hotel stationary.

Sheldon,  
Please take this ticket and go to the show. We promise you will not regret it. Also, if you don't go, we will hide dirty socks in your apartment and not tell you where they are. We are not bluffing.  
Sincerely,  
Bernadette & Amy

Sheldon sighed and took the ticket back.

"Don't worry, Dr. Cooper. You're lucky your friends got you a ticket. It's the last night of the show and it's been sold out for weeks."

"Thank you, Sariah." he said as he tried his best to smile politely, but ended up looking more creepy than friendly.

After arriving in his room and inspecting it, he deemed that it was acceptable to occupy for the next 5 days. The conference didn't start until Monday and it was Saturday. The first thing he did was put the "Do not disturb" sign on the door. He did not want anyone coming into the room when he was gone. Next, he unpacked his clothing and then sat on the bed. He picked up the ticket and inspected it. The show was at 7 pm and it was 3 pm. He decided to shower and then go to the hotel restaurant. He didn't end up eating because he had eaten on the train, but sat at the bar and had a virgin cuba libre.

At 5 pm, Sheldon decided he would walk to the theater. It wasn't very far from his hotel and he couldn't stand the thought of the bus again and a cab was certainly out of the question. When he arrived at the theater, he looked at the theater posters to see what exactly he was getting himself into. The poster of the show he was seeing made him take in a sharp, quick breath.

"Penny," he whispered and was so entranced that he failed to hear the footsteps behind him.

"Around here, they call me Penelope, but my friends call me Penny."

He froze at the sound of her voice and slowly turned around. He wasn't sure if he should be angry with her or act as if everything was fine between them.

"Hello, Penny."

"Hello, Sheldon." she responded with a big smile on her face. She was resisting the urge to hug him and he could see the thought dancing around in her big green eyes.

"I see you've turned your life around. You finally achieved your dream. Good for you." he replied thinking it would be better to act civil.

"Thank you, sweetie. I'm glad you're here," she said and came up beside him. She linked her arm in his arm, although he kept it straight at his side and gave her the "you know I don't like to be touched" look. She ignored him and tugged at his arm for a minute before he gave up and followed her.

"Penny, where are you taking me?"

"Sheldon, you're friends with the star of the show. You get to hang out backstage with me until the show starts."

"Oh. Will there be Strawberry Nesquik?" he inquired seriously.

She laughed. "Sweetie, if you want Strawberry Nesquik, I'm sure I can get someone to get you some."

He watched Penny get ready for the show. She had people doing her hair and her make-up. There were people running around with costumes and clipboards. Every now and then, she'd look up and smile at him from her vanity mirror. He stood well out of the way, drinking his Strawberry Nesquik (at least she didn't lie about that) and just watched the hustle and bustle of the final night of the performance. At 6:30, Penny was ready.

"Okay, sweetie. This is Jen. She's going to take you to your seat. After the show there is a finale party. Do you want to come?"

"No, not in particular. I should go back to the hotel. Although, I don't want to walk back in the dark."

"You're afraid you'll get mugged, aren't you?" she teased him, " Okay, Jen will make sure to get a town car to take you back to your hotel after the show. Also, tell her the hotel and room number, so I can call you tomorrow. Okay?"

"Alright, if you insist," he said as if he didn't want her to do that for him, "Penny?"

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"I believe the appropriate expression for this moment would be, 'Break a leg'."****


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sheldon turned on his laptop and decided to do some work. After about an hour, he got distracted and started to think about Penny's performance. She had actually done very well and everyone had given her a standing ovation at the end. They gave her flowers and she cried. He wondered when she would call him. Since she had the finale party the night before, she probably wouldn't be up before 11. He remembered her "Don't wake me before 11 or I'll punch you in the throat" rule.

At 9:30 he heard:

_Knock, knock, knock..._

"Sheldon,"

_Knock, knock, knock..._

"Sheldon,"

_Knock, knock, knock..._

"Sheldon,"

He waited for her to finish and opened the door.

"Hello, Penny."

"Hello, Sheldon."

"I'm surprised you're up this early. It's not yet 11." he said as he looked at his watch.

"Oh, you still remember that?" Penny cringed at the memory, "I've changed a bit in the last 6 years. Can I come in?"

"May I come in? is the correct term and yes, you may." he replied and opened the door wider, so she could enter.

She looked at the bed, thinking of sitting on it, but remembered Sheldon didn't even like people in his room. Instead she sat in the chair he had been sitting in, which she noticed he had moved from by the window to a more comfortable position in the room, along with the small round table to put his laptop on. He gave her a disapproving look, but did not say a word. He went over to the window and grabbed the other chair and set it next to the table. She could tell it was killing him not to say anything and she wondered why he was holding back, as he usually had no qualms about telling her what he thought before.

"Sheldon, just say it."

"You're sitting in my spot, Penny." he looked as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders as he spoke.

She shook her head and moved to the chair he had brought over. Once they were both settled, they stared at each other awkwardly for a moment.

"You're the reason that Bernadette and Amy visited New York last month. Am I correct?"

"Yes, they came to visit me and see the show." Penny answered.

"How long have they known you were here?" Sheldon asked trying not to sound agitated.

"They didn't know until a couple years ago. I kept in contact with both of them since the day I left, but they never knew where I was. I knew they would tell you guys." Penny spoke quickly and hung her head in shame, "So, I waited until I believed that you guys had forgotten about me."

"Why are you upset?"

"I feel like I owe you an explanation," she said as she looked at him. His brilliant blue eyes were fixed on her.

"Go on with your explanation," he said as he closed his laptop, "I'm curious to know why you couldn't be bothered to say goodbye."

She told him how she believed that if she had tried to say goodbye to them, that she would not have had the nerve to leave. She also told him about going to community college and then going to NYU for her bachelors in fine arts with a major in theater. She explained to him that she had stopped drinking so much and had only dated a couple guys since she left because she said all those things were distractions.

"It was because of you." she finally said.

"I don't think I understand what any of what you've just described has to do with me."

"You've achieved things in your life because you wouldn't let things distract you," she said as she reached over to touch his forearm (he did not pull it away as she thought he would), "I learned that from you."

He looked down at her hand and then put his hand over hers. She gasped and smiled, but said nothing. He knew then that Amy and Bernadette had told her everything that had gone on since she'd left.

Bernadette and Howard had a two year old son, named Ezra Joel Rostenkowski-Wolowitz. Leonard had moved in with Leslie Winkle and eventually had gotten married. Raj had moved in with Sheldon after passing the test again. Amy had left Sheldon after a couple years because he just couldn't be the boyfriend that she needed. She found love with a neuroscientist like herself, but remained very close, platonic friends with Sheldon.

"Amy must have told you she was helping me with some of my problems."

"Yes, she told me that she'd been helping you with your issues with people touching you."

"That's the reason you grabbed my arm yesterday," he finally realized why she had done that to him, "you wanted to see my reaction."

"I was conducting an experiment," she said with a grin. She turned her hand over so that their palms were touching and squeezed his hand, "will you forgive me for hurting your feelings?"

He pulled his hands away and set them in his lap.

"You didn't hurt my feelings," he replied, but his face twitched and she knew he was lying.

"Sheldon, your face twitches when you lie and I know you dislike lying."

Sheldon stood up and went over to the window as if he were looking at the scenery. In the last 6 years, Penny had grown to be patient and so she remained in the chair and said nothing. After 30 minutes of silence, Penny rose to leave believing that she had finally broken all ties to Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper (although she had been trying to mend them). In mere seconds, he was next to her and he pulled her into his embrace.

"Sheldon, you're hugging me." she stated as she hugged him back.

"I've missed you, Penny."


End file.
